The SOS calls have finally been answered. In June, Wood Brothers Racing announced that Josh Berry wouldn’t be driving the No. 21 Ford in 2027 to make way for Jesse Love, and since then, calls to save his Cup Series career have been loud. His drastically improved performances, including six consecutive top-10 finishes, only amplified those calls. Now, finally, a team has taken notice.

Legacy Motor Club announced on September 8 that Josh Berry will drive the No. 42 Toyota from 2027 onward, completing Jimmie Johnson’s team’s lineup. He will join newcomer Riley Herbst and Erik Jones at Legacy.

The news also comes just days after the team, somewhat surprisingly, revealed that John Hunter Nemechek would not return after three seasons with the organization. Just four months ago, Legacy had announced that he had signed a new one-year contract, with paint schemes reportedly already being discussed for his car for the upcoming campaign. Now, it will be Berry and the No. 42 team preparing for that.

For Berry, 2026 was largely a struggle. Of course, not everything should fall on his shoulders. Ford struggled with downforce and also lacked race data after two organizations in the Cup Series garage, Haas and Rick Ware Racing, switched to Chevrolet. The only driver who looked consistently competitive throughout the season was Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. To put Berry’s season into perspective, he managed just two top-10 finishes in the first 21 races.

Then, Berry finished 7th in Indianapolis, 4th in Iowa, 8th in Richmond, 3rd in New Hampshire, 9th in Daytona, and 7th in Darlington last Sunday. It wasn’t enough for him to make up lost ground, sadly, as he finished 25th before the Chase began with the Southern 500. But it was a Statement, and that was admittedly what he was looking for.

“My phone, I’d love for it to ring this afternoon.” That was Berry after putting his car on the front row before the Dollar Tree 301. It took a few weeks, and a whole lot of uncertainty, for that call to finally come. At one point, even Richard Childress Racing was reportedly looking to snap up the former Cup Series race winner, who won at Las Vegas in 2025. But ultimately, they went ahead with Austin Hill for the No. 33 team.

Berry’s future looked bleak after that, and even Dale Jr, made an appeal to the team owners in hopes of finding him a new ride. “I will be pretty disappointed in the landscape of this industry if he – in February at Daytona, he doesn’t have a full-time gig.”

But with Nemechek’s surprise exit from the LMC, Berry quickly became the popular choice and Jimmie Johnson ensured he moved in quickly. Another interesting element is that Berry doesn’t bring in a lot of sponsorship money with him. He comes with a promise of consistent results and hopefully winning races.

And that seems to have done the trick on LMC. They are a competitive team, but lack of wins and Chase appearances is something they would like to work on going into the next season.

Josh Berry on his Legacy Motor Club lifeline

In 2027, Berry will drive for a manufacturer that has won 17 out of 27 races this year. Toyota has been the outright best, and although Legacy Motor Club didn’t add to that win column, the organization has huge hopes — which is reportedly why they went for Berry instead of Nemechek in the first place — and Berry wants to be part of that.

In a team statement released on Tuesday, Berry said: “Legacy Motor Club is an organization that clearly has a vision for where they want to go, and I want to be part of that,” Berry said in a team release. “I’ve had a chance to see this team up close, and I know what they’re capable of. The way Jimmie has built this place, the people, the culture, the direction, it’s exactly the kind of environment I want to compete in.”

Johnson, a seven-time Cup Series champion who wants to turn Legacy Motor Club into one of NASCAR’s powerhouses and establish himself as a GOAT owner as well, believes Berry’s experience and wisdom will help the team achieve bigger things than it has to date. And 2027 is a crucial year for the organization on top of that.

It will be the first time Legacy Motor Club runs three cars in the Cup Series. Berry will drive the No. 42, Jones the No. 43, and Herbst the No. 84. Herbst will also bring full-time sponsorship from Monster Energy, providing the team with a much-needed cash injection.

Sadly, for Nemechek, a Cup Series spot next year looks unlikely. Of course, there could still be a bombshell announcement, although that’s doubtful considering most teams are already locking in their immediate futures, that saves Nemechek just as it did Berry. But a step down to the O’Reilly Series or the Truck Series looks like the more realistic option.